Pleasure-railway



F. A. SMITH.

PLEASURE RAILWAY.

APPLICATION men JUNE 18. 1920.

1,356,412. Patented Oct.19,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I in; ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WITNESSES ATTORNEYS F. A. SMITH.

PLEASURE RAILWAY- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1a, 1920.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

s SHEETS-SHEET s.

W F A 3 423 v 3 11 X((X lxxi x125 WITNESSES @KM FRANK ALOYSIUS SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PLEASUREFRAILWAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1920.

Application filed June 18, 1920; Serial No. 389,881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK A. SMIrH,'a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Pleasure-Railway, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. i p

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved pleasure railway for use in parks, exhibition grounds and other pleasure resorts and arranged to provide an exceedingly exhilarating ride for the passengers and amusement for the onlookers.

Another object is to provide a long ride within a comparatively small space.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as hereinafter shown and described and then specifically pointed out in the claims.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved pleasure railway; V

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the upper end of the up track and the down slope leading therefrom, the section being on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the same on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional side elevation of the same on the line 5- 5 of ig. 1 and showing more particularlythe reversing pocket eX- tension of the down slope;

Fig. 6 is a sectional front elevation of the improved pleasure railway on the line 66 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the lower end of the up track and a portion of the station track with a car in position thereon, the section being on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a similar view of the connection between the lower end of the main track and the home stretch and station track, the section being on the line 8-8 of Fig. l; s

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional side elevation of the home stretch and station track with a car 1n position thereon;

F1g. 10 is an enlarged plan view of one of the cars; and i F1g. 11 is a sectional side elevation of the same on the line 1l11 ofFig. 10.

The improved pleasure railway in its gen-g eral construction comprises cars 20 and a contlnuous track for each. car to travel on to prov de an uninterrupted ride. Each car 20 is preferably provided with a shallow body 21 rounded off at the ends and upholstered at the inside on the bottom, sides and ends, as plainly shown in the drawings;

The size of the car is preferably such to ac-.

commodate two persons in lyin down positlons and ranging one alongsi e the other.

The under side of the body ofthe car 21 is provided with rollers or casters 22 and similar rollers or casters 23 are mounted exteriorly on the sides and ends, of the car body 20.

The continuous track includes a station and home stretch portion 30 provided with an embarkation platform 31 for loading the,

passengers into the cars 20, and adjacent the platform 31 is a disembarkation platform 32 slightly curved portion of the up track 40, as plalnly shown in Fig. 2. The shaft 49-ofthe lower sprocket wheel 45 is connected with a driving means 50*, preferably in the form of an electric motor, for imparting a traveling motion to the endless sprocket chain 41 to haul the cars 20 up the up track 40.

The upper end of the uptraok 40 termi nates in a down slope 50,(se e Figs.,1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) terminating in a slightly upwardly curved pocket 51 bent sidewise, as shown in Fig 1. It is understood that the up track 1 40 as well as the down slope 50 is provided with side walls to prevent the car from accidentally leaving the up track or the down slope in a sidewise direction. It will be noticed that a car after leaving the upper end of the up track 40 travels down the slope 50 into the pocket 51 and by its side rollers 23 engaging the side walls of the pocket the car is caused to swing around from the position shown in full lines to that indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and at the same time the car is brought temporarily to a stop to then travel down the inclined end 51 and onto an inclined overhead track joining the slope 50, as plainly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The overhead track 60' is of considerable length and extends first along the rear portion of the pleasure railway, then forwardly v along the left-hand side thereof, then along the front and then along the righthand side of the pleasure railway to finally merge with the upper end of aninclined surface provided at its upper end with a pair of spaced guiding and supporting members 66, 67 which provide with the inclined surface 65 a continuation of the overhead track 60.

extending across the surface 65 in a slightly inclined direction and terminating in a downwardly inclined member 71 for guiding the car onto an upwardly extending portion 72 of another supporting and guiding member 73 similar to the supporting and guiding member only extending in an opposite direction, that is, from the right to the left to terminate in a downwardly extending end 74 similar to the end 68 of the member 66. Any desired number of such guiding and supporting members 70 and 73 are arranged in succession down the entire surface 65 to provide with the latter azigzag track for each car to travel on to finally pass down the lower end 74 of the last supporting and guiding member 73 onto a steep inclined portion 80 leading to the station and home stretch portion 30 of the continuous track.

A car at the embarkation platform 31 is filled with passengers, then pushed along the right-hand side of the track 30 to the lower end of the up track 40 and onto the lower end of the latter for one of the crossbars 42 to finally engage the projection 43 of this car 20 to haul the latter up the track 40. It will be noticed that by the arrangement described the car hauled up the up track 40 by the propelling chain 41 leaves the latter at the upper end of the track 40 and travels down the slope 50 into the pocket 51 and then returns for a short distance with a changed direction to pass into the upper end of the overhead track 60 along which the car travels to finally pass onto the inclined surface 65 and down the zigzag track formed there, to finally pass down the steep inclined portion 80 onto the home stretch and station portion 30, to be brought to a standstill by an attendant at the disembarkation platform 32 for the passengers to disembark.

The steep portion 80 leads to the steeper left-hand portion of the home stretch and station track 30 so that each car assumes a nearly vertical position to permit the passengers to readily disembark. The station and home stretch portion 30 is preferably provided at its middle with spaced guard rails 85 (see Figs. 1 and 9) for the projection 48 to pass between thus supporting the corresponding car 20 in an upright position.

It willbe noticedthat the car 20 during the ride assumes various positions, that is, sometimes with the feet of the passengers forward and sometimes with the heads forward.' Thus during the travel on the uptrack 40 the heads of the passengers are foremost until the car travels back from the pocket 51 onto the track 60 and along the same with the feet of the passengers forward, and then the car in its travel down the inclined surface65 keeps the feet of the passengers forward although the car assumes various angles during its travel down the inclined surface with the rollers 22 traveling on the latter and the rollers 28 traveling on the supporting and guidingrmembers 66, 70 and 73. The car when it reaches the steep portion 80 rights itself and finally reaches the disembarkation platform 32 in an almost upright position forthe convenient disembarkation of the passengers.

From the foregoing it will be seen that an exceedingly exhilarating ride for the passengers'is insured, and as the cars and the passengers can be readily viewed by on lookers in front of the pleasure railway considerable amusement is provided for such onlookers owing to the various positions each car assumes during its journey.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a pleasure railway, a track and a car mounted to travel thereon and adapted to contain at least two persons in lying down positions, the said track and car having coacting means to allow the car to travel down the track with one end forward during a portion of the down travel of the car and rearward during another portion of the down travel of the car. 7

2, In a pleasure railway, a track and a car mounted to travel thereon, the'saidcar having a single seatless shallow compartment arranged to accommodate at least two persons in lying down positions and ranging one alongside the other, the said track and car having coacting means to allow the ear to travel down the track with one end forward during a portion of the down travel of the car and rearward during another portion of the down travel of the car.

3. In a pleasure railway, a zigzag down track and a car mounted to travel thereon by its own gravity, the car having a single shallow compartment arranged to accommodate at least two persons in lying down positions and ranging one alongside the other, the said track comprising an inclined surface for the bottom of the car to travel on, and sidewise extending and downwardly inclined side supporting and direction members mounted on the inclined surface for the sides of the car to travel on.

4. In a pleasure railway, a zigzag down track and a car mounted to travel thereon by its own gravity, the'car having a single shallow compartment arranged to accommodate at least, two persons in lying down positions and ranging one alongside the other, the said track comprising an inclined surface for the bottom of the car to travel on, and sidewise extending and downwardly inclined side supporting and direction members mounted on the inclined surface for the sides of the car to travel on, the said side supporting and direction members extending alternately from opposite sides of the inclined surfaces and in spaced relation one relative to the adjacent one. i

5. In a pleasure railway, a zigzag down track and a car mounted to travel thereon by its own gravity, the car having a single shallow compartment arranged to accommodate at least two persons in lying down positions and ranging one alongside the other, the said track comprising an inclined surface for the bottom of the car to travel on, and sidewise extending and downwardly inclined side supporting and direction members mounted on the inclined surface for the sides of the car to travel on, the said side supporting and direction members ex tending alternately from opposite sides of the inclined surfaces and in spaced relation one relative to the adjacent one, each member having its upper end provided with a rising extension and havingits lower end provided with a depending extension disposed opposite and spaced from the rising extension of the next member below.

6. In a pleasure railway, an uptrack provided with a hauling means for hauling a car up the said uptrack, an inclined surface provided with supporting and guiding members forming with. the said surface a zigzag down track, and an overhead connecting track having one end connected with the upper end of the said up track and having its other end connected with the upper end of the said zigzag track.

7. In a pleasure railway, an up track provided with hauling means for haulin a car up the said up track, an inclined sur ace provided with supporting and guiding members forming with the said surface a zigzag down track, an overhead inclined connecting track having its lower end connected with the upper end of the said zigzag track, and a direction reversing track forming an extension of the upper end of the said up track and connected with the upper end of the said overhead track.

8. In a pleasure railway, an up track provided with hauling means for hauling a car up the said up track, an inclined surface provided with supporting and guiding members forming with the said surface a zigzag down track, an overhead connecting track having one end connected with the upper end of the said up track and having its other end connected with the upper end of the said zigzag track, and a home stretch and station track connectin the lower end of the said zigzag track wit the lower end of the said up track to return a car to the up track.

9. In a pleasure railway, an up track provided with hauling means for hauling a car up the said up track, an inclined surface provided with supporting and guiding members forming with the said surface a zigzag down track, an overhead connecting track having one end connected with the upper end of the said up track and having its other end connected with the upper end of the said zigzag track, and a home stretch and station track connectin the lower end of the said zigzag track wit the lower end of the said up track to return a car to the up track, the said home stretch and station track having a steep inclined surface, a bottom supporting and guiding member, and a guard rail approximately at the middle of the steep inclined surface.

10. In a pleasure railway, an up track provided with hauling means for hauling a car up the said up track, an inclined surface provided with supporting and guiding members forming with the said surface a zigzag down track, an overhead connecting track having one end connected with the up oer end of the said up track and having its ot er end connected with the upper end of the said zigzag track, a home stretch and station track connecting the lower end of the said zigzag track with the lower end of the said up track to return a car to the up track, the said home stretch and station track having a steep inclined urface and supporting and guiding means for the car to hold the latter in upright unloading and loading position, and unloading and loading stations at the said home stretch track intermediate the ends thereof.

FRANK ALOYSIUS SMITH. 

